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- Adventures in Wonderland by Richard Wintle
- Athene Donald's Blog by Athene Donald
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Author Archives: Athene Donald
What Next after Tim Hunt? (#just1action4WIS)
Last week the world erupted into a storm of outrage over remarks Sir Tim Hunt, Nobel Prize winner, made in Korea. Unacceptable, indefensible remarks. He has been made to resign from positions and committees for which he has worked so … Continue reading
Posted in discrimination, Equality, personal responsibility, Royal Society, Science Culture, Women in science
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Faking It
I seem to have given a lot of talks recently in which the phrase ‘faking it’ sat at their heart. You will realise I am not referring to talks about protein aggregation, microscopy or other scientific subjects when the use … Continue reading
Posted in career progression, independenc, Science Culture, self-confidence
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Science, Culture and All That Jazz
People seem to think that science and culture are two different things. Just as Stefan Collini, in his 2012 book ‘What are Universities for? ’ constantly referred to scientists and scholars, as if scientists were unable to join the (implied … Continue reading
Posted in Communicating Science, Matthew Arnold, Melvyn Bragg, Science Culture, Two Cultures
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How Broad is Broad?
Most conferences provide food for thought and my participation this week in the Global Scholars Symposium in Cambridge certainly fulfilled my expectations in this respect. Although I was meant to be the one doing the talking, there was also time … Continue reading
Posted in career paths, interdisciplinarity, Research, Science Culture, Science policy
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Do you have a sponsor? (Do you need one?)
I have been reading the book by Sylvia Ann Hewlett on sponsorship: (Forget a Mentor) Find a Sponsor. Sylvia very kindly gave me a copy of this book when I met her in March where we were both talking at … Continue reading
Posted in advice, careers, mentors, Science Culture
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On the Loss of a Giant
At the turn of the year I wrote about the death of Ed Kramer, one of the two key people in my life who turned me into the person I am as a scientist. I am deeply saddened to learn … Continue reading
Posted in Cavendish Professor, Science Culture, Sir Sam Edwards, soft matter physics
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Knowledge versus Experience
One of the things that is always said about teaching is that it shows you what you do or don’t know. You can’t flannel an explanation to a student who keeps asking probing questions though you may manage to do … Continue reading
Posted in career progression, Communicating Science, mentoring, public speaking, Science Culture
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The Perils of Procrastination
Voter registration in the UK showed just how many people are good at procrastination, with nearly half a million people registering on the last possible day. My email inbox is also a good indicator of people’s expectation that we are … Continue reading
Posted in computers, lectures, preparation, Science Culture
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The Myth of the ‘Myth of Women in Science’
If you skimmed through some articles about women in science recently, you’d be forgiven for thinking ‘problem solved’. A recent study by Cecil and Williams, published in no less august a publication than PNAS, claimed women actually had a 2:1 … Continue reading
Posted in Equality, hiring, microinequities, tenure track, Women in science
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On the Need for Shiny New Facilities
I’m off to open a new block at Brighton and Hove Sixth Form College tomorrow. A shiny new building to provide fresh classrooms and additional study space, something many schools would dearly love to have. A decent working environment is … Continue reading
Posted in careers, education, practical work, school facilities
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